Sampoerna Puts In Bid For Famous London Casino

Chris Noon, 02.10.06, 1:48 PM ET

LONDON - Smoke and mirrors. Putera Sampoerna, an Indonesian cigarette billionaire who ranks 13th on Forbes' list of Southeast Asia's 40 Richest is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire private member's club Les Ambassadeurs, London's most sumptuous casino.

A spokesman for London Clubs International confirmed to Forbes that it had received an approach for "Les A"--as the flagship club is affectionately known--but refused to speculate on a suitor or price for a the gilt-lined converted mansion, which overlooks Hyde Park. A couple of Les A's punters are Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and apparel billionaire Philip Green.

Sampoerna, who is also believed to be a long-standing member of the club, is worth about $2 billion after selling his family's clove kretek cigarette business to Altria (nyse: MO - news - people ), the U.S. tobacco concern formerly known as Philip Morris, for $5.2 billion a year ago.

The media report in question speculated that the divestment could catalyze the merger between LCI and Stanley Leisure by reducing potential competition issues. Genting, the Malaysian gaming operator owned by Lim Kok Thay, the son of another South East Asian billionaire, Lim Goh Tong, apparently owns more than 20% of both LCI and Stanley but has shown no inclination to combine its interests.

A word about kreteks: The pungent, smoldering straights are favored by 90% of smokers in Indonesia and are a blend of tobacco, cloves and flavoring. It is believed the name kretek, the Indonesian word for the cigarettes, comes from the crackling sound the cloves make when they are burned.